Karen, Erik and Jack

Verdict: Ummmm… really nice, but no

This was a very interesting location. First off, it’s in the ghetto (well about as ghetto as Charlotte gets), it’s not really located near anything (even though it only took us about 15 minutes to get there, there were no hotels within 10 miles), and it felt pretty stuffy. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful place, but it’s a museum…and it felt like one. The entire time I was there, I felt like if I acted out the currator would send me back to my school bus without my lunch.

I did remember to finally bring (all the components of) our new digital camera, so we were able to get our own pictures of the place. I forgot to take a picture of the front of the museum, but I did get the main area where the reception would be (above and left). It’s a fairly long walk from the Museum (where Karen would be getting ready) to the two areas typically used for the ceremony. At one point, the coordinator had to stop talking and take a couple of deep breaths from the effort.

Hopefully, as you can see from the picture above, the back of the Museum overlooks a nice creek bed (not a horribly bad smell, but still, it was a creek) that was well maintained. There were some nice museum pieces out there and a few meandering trails with a bridge going over the creek. The most surprising thing was the the grass was still green. Every other place around here the grass turns brown after the first frost (which we had a long time ago). So it speaks to the level of care the Museum goes about keeping the place.

The main area for the reception is a large 2 story vaulted room, with a large glass chandalier hanging ominously above (it was about 12 feet tall and 20 feet in circumference). There are three semi-circular floor to ceiling windows forming the corners of the room. The entrance to the room was the corner where the fourth window could have been, had the room not been attached to the Museum. In its place was a circular room that would be ideal to use as a buffet location. The entire room was very nice, just didn’t quite have that wedding feel.

This was likely one of the more beautiful locations we’ve seen thus far, but again, it just didn’t feel like a spot to get married in.

Verdict: Perhaps…

Last Wednesday morning, Karen and I visited the Northstone Country Club, a nice location in a nice part of town – though it was a bit north of Charlotte, and might be a little longer drive than we were hoping for. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to write this place up closer to the day we actually visited (it’s been about 5 days since we saw it), but work was overwhelmingly busy this weekend, and I’ll have to see how much I can remember.

The feeling of this site was very similar to the Providence Country Club, as you might expect. However, the site for the ceremony felt a little cramped, and very much like it was put in as an afterthought. There is a gazebo (pictured left) on the side of the Club building (the side where the 6 industrial sized air conditioners are housed) with the backdrop being a couple of (very nice) houses adjacent to the Club. It seems pretty secluded, however the coordinator did mention that there have been some unruly kids in the past, though she knows what they look like and will keep them away (huh?).

The banquet hall was pretty nice and could easily accomodate our estimated guest list, and the veranda contains an awning, so no matter what the weather is like, guests can use that area if they want to get some fresh air. I didn’t like the carpet, but whatever. There is aparently no site fee, but we must use their catering services and spend a minimum of $5000 on food and beverage. Other then that, there appears to be a small number of small fees associated, but it seems fairly affordable.

The really good news is that they had our preferred date available, so we quickly put a tentative hold on it, and we now have the right of first refusal. I don’t think this will end up being our top choice, but it is nice to have an option out there in case we can’t find a better place on the date we want. I will say this though; I was quite a bit more excited about this place when we saw it last week than I am right now. I did remember to bring the camera this time…just not the power source. So again, I borrowed the pics from their site.

Next up: The Charlotte Museum

This is the only good image I found on
their site of the exterior. Sorry about
the fluffy text.

Verdict: If only they had dates available

Perhaps we should have taken the rain as an omen. You see, the first time we were scheduled to visit the Providence Country Club was directly after our visit to the Birkdale Country Club. During our visit at the Birkdale CC, it started raining, progressively increasing to a sustained downpour. Since it was 1) raining very hard, 2) approaching rush hour, and 3) almost an hour away from the Providence CC, we decided to reschedule for a later date (Monday, Jan 2nd). However, mother nature decided not to coorperate again, and we still had to visit the Providence CC during a rain storm (but at least the drive there was no longer an hour and during rush hour).

Immediately upon arrival, we could tell that this place would be very accomodating for our needs (even though our contact kept us waiting for 10 minutes – I KNOW, a whole 10 minutes, but keep in mind Bowl games were being played and I was missing them for this!).

The ceremony area, while not perfectly ideal due to the adjacent nature of the 18th hole and green and the cart path location, would have looked great in pictures and in person, and would have easily accomodated the number of guests. And there were nice possibilities in place in case of inclement weather.

The area the reception would be held was both functional and beautiful, something we’d not yet come across yet in our first four visits. The room was evenly split with a dance floor in the middle. It set up very well to place the buffet table at the end of the dance floor in front of a large window over looking the golf course with the DJ stand opposite the Dance Floor against the wall.

However, none of the dates we really wanted were available. Obviously, this is a pretty popular place, so our options were to move it to August (not our first preference due to heat), early to mid September (not our preference due to other obligations), or move it to November 4th but have it inside (not likely).

I guess it wasn’t meant to be. At least it gave us hope that an ideal location is out there, even if it’s not available on our date.

Next up on Wednesday is the Northstone Country Club (keep your fingers crossed).

Verdict: Not on your life.

We set out for Asbury Park Grove with high hopes and excitement about using our new camera. As soon as we arrived, we didn’t bother taking the camera out of our pocket.

Erik: “I am not getting married here.”
Me: “Neither am I.”
Erik: “Let’s just leave then.”
Me: “No, it will make a good story for the blog.”

This place was about 30 feet from railroad tracks, and a quarter of a mile from a trailer park. It advertised itself as being in business since the late 1800’s, but I didn’t know the 1800’s had sheet metal siding. We cautiously walked in (all to entertain our readers) and were met with the scent of… well, a combination of mildew, pee and butt. A man we’ll call “DR” greeted us – he was the manager/DJ for the place. He gave off that vibe that told us, “I’m going to hit on your mom and slip a roofie in the bridesmaid’s drink.”

(and yes, the filename they saved this
under on their web site was
“Black People”)

He gave us a tour, but our goal was to be in and out – we could only hold our breath for so long. The ceremony area was basically a small backyard with a sheet metal porch. The reception area was a dirty, smelly (we’ve mentioned the smell, right?) darkened room. When Erik mercifully got a phone call and stepped out, “DR” asked where I worked. When I told him, he said that his buddy once applied for a job there and was turned down. Then he looked at me like it was my fault. Way to make us feel welcome! He also mentioned that their staff would ensure that they were in control of the entire event. It was stressed several times, in fact – THEY ARE IN CONTROL. While I understand what I think he was trying to convey, Erik was thinking, “you don’t know my fiance. SHE is in control.”

There were so many little things about that place that added up to a big “NO” (and I’m sure Erik will add some in the comments), but overall it was dirty, smelly, in a bad part of town, next to railroad tracks, and hosted by a guy who gave us a 20 second tour and seated us at a battered wood table on filthy chairs and then told us how awesome and in control they are.

The good news – there’s another venue that looks lovely, is just barely outside of Charlotte, and is available on our first choice date. Also, we have another venue to visit on Monday – the Providence Country Club.

Verdict – Would work, but…eh.

I think I liked this place more than Karen did, so hopefully she’ll chime in below in the comments. The Palmer Building (according to it’s web site) is a restored Fire School, constructed in the late 1930s in an effort to employ people during the Great Depression. As you can see from the photos (the last of which we’ll be borrowing as our digital camera has arrived!), it has a rubble stone facade around the entire exterior, making it look somewhat like a castle. It’s not over-the-top though, and comes off really nice.

The inside on the other hand, is a little dark. Everything appears to be the original decorations, nicely preserved over the many years the building has been around. However, all the wood is stained very dark, and the interior is very much an auditorium, complete with a stage. The space inside would be very accomodating, and in case of inclement weather, we could use the stage for the ceremony. Since it is a historic building, decorating may be difficult, and we would definitely need to do something to lighten the inside up to look more like a wedding.

The main ceremony area is a nice courtyard guarded by trees and another building (a doctor’s office, with a brick facade), with a patio and steps leading up from the courtyard to the patio, making a natural stage area. Since the other building is a Dr.’s office, we wouldn’t have to worry about people going in and out since it will be a Saturday. Unfortunately, as nice as the courtyard is, it felt a little cramped and might not set up too well for groups larger the 50 (and we’re expecting about 150). I think it would definitely work if we forced it, and the pictures for the ceremony would look outstanding, but the guests might feel uncomfortable in the cramped area, and we don’t want that.

Also, they didn’t have any of the dates available that we were hoping for. They had dates that might work (I’ll know more about September obligations after January). Ultimately, this was another place that would work for us if we needed to, but all in all, it wasn’t as ideal a location as we’re hoping for.

Next up: The Asbury Park Grove

Verdict: Perfectly Adequate

Karen and I visited the Birkdale Country Club on Wednesday. Since our new digital camera had yet to arrive, you’ll have to settle for the (small) pics I copied from their web site. The reception area was alright. Perhaps a little plain, very very white, but adequate for our needs.

It looks like they’re in the middle of a little remodeling (the place reaked of a fresh coat of OIL based paint), and it definitely could use some improvements. The bar, while very large, looked like stained plywood in desperate need of a new coat, the floor was painted grey concrete, and the ceiling was white 2×6 rafters. Not exactly the stuff dreams are made of, but not distracting either, and the space would work well for us. Good set up for the DJ, dance floor, bar, and tables. If we had to go over 150 guests, it might be a little tight, but we’ll see.

The area held for the cermony was nice. It over looked a nice man made lake in the background, and was setup on a nicely manicured lawn. Unfortunately, the pro shop, golf range, and bag drop were all less than 100 ft. away and the cart path ran right next to the area (about 10 ft. from where the ceremony would go on). The coordinator (when she wasn’t dogging other weddings that they’d hosted there) explained that they would coordinate it so that no golfers would go thru during our ceremony, but that is a lot of faith to be placed in the local golf ranger.

Ultimately, this was the first place we saw that would accomodate all of our needs and meet our budget. They didn’t have our preferred date available, but our did have our second date available. We’re going to play wait and see on this one.

Thursday’s visit will be to the Palmer building, an old Fireman’s house.

On Tuesday, we went to visit a possible wedding location. First, an explanation – we are looking for a place that can host both the ceremony and reception. So we’ve looked at museums, historical houses, estates, hotels, and so on. We need a place that will fit us all (our guest list will likely end up around 200, so 160 or so actually attending), be in or close to Charlotte, not cost as much as a new car (excluding those places that said they have an $18,000 minimum charge), and not feel like a convention center (excluding some hotels – even their pictures of weddings they have hosted had an air of “today’s corporate agenda” about them).

Our first visit was to the Magnolia Room, in Rock Hill, SC. Charlotte is on the NC/SC border, so Rock Hill is not too far away. The Magnolia Room is a large room situated in some upscale community. The Room itself is surrounded by the community swimming pool, tennis court, and parking lots. In other words, not very secluded and no real outdoor location for a ceremony. Our host, Warren, explained that we could divide the room in half and have the ceremony on one side and the reception on the other. That was the point where I stopped thinking “this could still be nice” and started thinking “No. No no no no no. Not for us. No.” It also did not help that when he heard where I work , he started asking for my advice on why their speaker system and microphone system wasn’t working. Luckily, Erik’s technical expertise helped. Warren chatted a bit with Erik (Warren was a Pi Kapp), and then we left.

Pros of the place:
It really is a lovely space. Real hardwood floors (possibly maple?), great big windows, high ceilings. Has a beautiful bar area with dark woods and black marble. And the price was affordable. And has built in house sound system (although it sounded as if they were not sure how to use it).

Cons:
Only one dressing area – either Erik and I would have to share and see each other before the wedding, or one of us is getting ready before/in the manager’s office. No area for a ceremony – we are not splitting the room, and we just can’t picture our ceremony being out by the parking lot. And it’s in South Carolina, and Erik doesn’t like that state.

Me: “I thought you said you didn’t care where we got married.”
Him: “That didn’t mean we could get married in another STATE.”

Today: a visit to Birkdale Golf Club.